The Value of the National Spelling Bee in the Age of Spell Check and Predictive Text

Spellers write in autograph books at the National Spelling Bee in the 1980s. Image: Jessamyn

Yesterday 275 kids gathered in Washington, DC, to take a spelling test. Today, they’ll start spelling in the preliminary rounds until just 50 spellers move on to the semifinals of the National Spelling Bee. A few of them are here by luck. Most of the spellers, however, got here through incredible hard work and determination. This is no fluke. This is the culmination of hours and hours of intense studying, rote memorization, and the deep exploration of language. These kids are the best of the orthographic best.

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Why bother?

Even our smartphones are now capable of correcting our spelling, and contemporary spelling conventions offer wide latitude in expression. A legitimate conversation today might consist of this jumble of characters: Sup? Nm, u? K, gtg, ttyl. While some have questioned the value in taking spelling seriously, I think it’s a skill for the masses. Spelling should not be the private domain of one subset of specialized geeks.